Insole.



ARTHUR R. TIRRELL, NORTH WEYMOUTH, MASSACHUSETTS.

INSOLE..

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 30, 1906.

Application led December 24, 1900. Serial No. l0,376.

To a/ZZ whom it may concern,.-

Be it known that I, ARTHUR R. TIRRELL, of North Weymouth, in the county of Norfolk andState of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Insoles, of which the following is a specification.

This invention has relation to insoles for boots and shoes, and more particularly to that type in which several layers of material are employed in conjunction. Several different varieties of insoles are now being made of this character, each of them having a top layer of material molded or otherwise formed into a Wale which is utilized to receive the stitches by which the Welt and upper are secured to the insole. In nearly every variety of insole, however, considerable difficulty is experienced by the liability of the Wale to flatten down and permit the needle of the welting or lasting machine to pass over it for several stitches, and thereby injure the shoe or compel it to be restitched at the faulty portion. Another difficulty which has been experienced in the use of such insoles is due to the liability of the upper layer, which forms a part of the Wale, to become separated from the body of the insole during the lasting or stitching operation and cause the top layer to be torn and severed and the folds thereof to be gathered in by the stitch. The needle is apt after penetrating the upturned portion of the body which forms a part of the Wale to draw the upper layer away from the body, the resistance to the penetration of the needle through said layer being greater than the adhesion of the said layer to the body of the insole. Under such circumstances the needle slides along the under surface of the top layer and finally penetrates the latter at some distance from the Wale, so that When the thread is tightened to form a stitch the said layer becomes torn and badly damaged.

The object of the present invention is to o bviate these difliculties by firmly uniting the layers of material which form the Wale by stitches passed therethrough in a plane substantially parallel to the plane of the insole, for by so uniting themthe Wale is prevented from yielding laterally or from being pressed downward, and the several layers forming a part thereof can never be separated, and consequently the welting operation can be performed with great accuracy and Without danger of missing one or more stitches.

Upon the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 represents in perspective view an insole embodying my invention. Fig. 2` represents a plan view of the toe end of the same with a portion of the Wale broken away to show the transverse stitches. Fig. 3 represents a sec# tion on the line 3 3 of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 represents a cross-section through the Wale and illustrates the position of the parts during the passage of the needle therethrough. Figs. 5, 6, and 7 illustrate the disadvantageous features of the ordinary Wale.

I have illustrated my invention as eme bodied in what is known as a Gein insole. In this variety of insole the body portion is made of leather having a kerf in its outer edge to provide a lip or flange which is bent upward to form the body portion of the Wale. Upon the top surface of the body of the insole is placed a layer of canvas or other material, cemented thereto and completely covering the lip or Wale. Hitherto cement has been the only means for fastening the two layers of material together.

From the drawings it Will be seen that a indicates the body of thc insole, having the upturned continuous flange or lip I), and that c is a canvas or other layer which is placed upon the top of the insole, completely covering the feather-edge d, the flange or lip I), and the body a., the said flange and the layer c forming a lip composed of a plurality of layers across Which the 'body portion a extends. In Fig. 5 I have shown What frequently happens in Welting a shoe provided with an insole of this character. The needle e after passing through the Welt f, the upper or vamp g, and the lip b lifts or raises the canvas layer c from the body a of the insole and subsequently penetrates the said layer at some distance from the lip b, whereupon the setting of the stitch tears the layer. In Fig. 6 I have shown the needle penetrating the Wale when the lip b has been bent downward by pounding during the pulling over or initial lasting in the manufacture of the shoe. In this case the needle does not penetrate the lip I), but passes over it, lifting the canvas layer c from the insole. The setting of the stitch breaks the layer and causes several folds of the layer to be caught und er the stitch. According to my invention, however, I pass through the Wale a series of transverse stitches h, these stitches being preferably located at the base of the Wale, as shown in Fig. 3, and being in IOO a plane parallel to the plane of the insole. These stitches h irmly unite the fabric at the sides 10 and 11 to the lip b, and they prevent the Wale from being flattened or from being bent materially to one side or the other. This uniting of the lip With the upperlayer likewise prevents the fabric layer from being separated from the body of the insole and greatly strengthens the shoe. It not only unites the upper layer to the Wale, but likewise secures it to the body of the insole in a manner that has not hitherto been possible.

In manufacturing shoes having the insole embodying my invention I have found that miss-stitches or false stitches seldom, if ever, occur and that the shoe When completed is stronger and better made than heretofore.

In lieu of the stitches I may employ any other fastening devices Which Will penetrate the layers of the Wale and positively unite them together, provided said devices do not interfere With the Welting operation, and consequently the claims hereinafter set forth may be construed With this in mind.

Owing to the fact that the transverse fastenings extend through the lip or Wale comprising the several layers close to the base of said lip or Wale, the several thicknesses of material are held in close contact With each other at the base and beloW the point penetrated by the needle of the Welting or lasting machine. The advantage of this is most clearly shoWn in F ig. 4, in Which the fastenings 7L are so close to the base of the compound lip or Wale that there is ample room for the needle e to pass through above the fastenings. At the same time the location of the fastenings L beloW the plane of the movement of needle e results in a firm holding of the several layers together, so as to prevent any relative displacement of said layers by the needle.

I-Iaving thus explained the nature of the invention and described a Way of constructing and using the same, although Without having attempted to set forth all of the forms in Which it may be made or all of the modes of its use, I declare that What I claim is- 1. An insole comprising a body portion having an integral upturned lip, a layer of flexible material having an upturned portion covering said lip, and fastenings extending through the lip close to the base thereof and through the covering layer, Whereby the plurality of upturned integral portions secured together serve to reinforce or brace each other in upright position and are held in close contact beloW the point at Which the needle of a Welting or lasting machine penetrates the said upturned portions.

2. An insole comprising a leather body having an integral upturned lip, a fabric layer covering said body and extending over the edge of the lip, and means for holding the lip in proper upturned position, said means comprising a roW of transverse fastenings extending through the lip close to the base thereof and through the fabric layer, Whereby the plurality of upturned integral portions se'- cured together serve to reinforce or brace each other in upright position and are held in close contact beloW the point at Which the needle of a Welting or lasting machine penetrates the said upturned portions.

In testimony Whereof I have affixed my signature in p resence of tWo Witnesses.

ARTHUR R. TIRRELL.

Witnesses:

C. C. STEOHER, A. D. HARRISON. 

